TUESDAY in LA: “Allegro Non Troppo”

For those of us stuck in L.A. and not attending Annecy this year, take heart. I’ll be hosting a rare 35mm screening of the 1976 Bruno Bozzetto feature-length masterpiece, Allegro Non Troppo, at my Animation Tuesday screening on Tuesday night (June 7th).

The film, a feature length parody of Disney’s Fantasia, is a masterpiece unto itself – and if you haven’t seen it you are required to attend. Bozzetto visualizes Ravel’s “Bolero” as an Evolutionary Fantasy, one that supposes life began as germs from a discarded Coke bottle; Vivaldi’s “Concerto in C” is the backdrop of an insect revenge senario; and, Sibelius’ “Valse Triste” is used for a poignant tale of an abandoned house cat. Bozetto also skewers Dvorak and Debussy using full blown character animation, and the film is framed with zany live-action bridging sequences featuring the “Woody Allen” of Italy, Maurizio Nichetti. And just to get things started, we’ll begin the show with several vintage Hollywood cartoon shorts (also in 35mm) that use classical music as their basis.

I do kinda wonder that too, there was a good number of talented guys on this though they didn’t credit them all for each segment separately, though perhaps there’s a website out there that does tell off about it (probably in Italian anyway).

http://www.DigThisCrazyTestPattern.com Kevin Wollenweber

Sorry to say that I’ve never seen this film, because the premise for each piece of music sounds intriguing as a visual. Wish an American animator had tried such a thing.

Chris Sobieniak

At least we have a guy who already did over there. The film is certainly a tour-du-force in both visuals and approachds to the music utilized. Then you get these little live-action moments where a cartoonist is being tortured by a couple of jerks while an orchestra compiled of old women play along.